1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to coatings for contact surfaces and more specifically to coatings which impart enhanced gripping characteristics to substrates on which they are applied.
2. Prior Art
The handles of tools and sports equipment are generally made of hard materials such as wood, metal and composite materials (i.e. graphite and fibre glass). To improve one's grip on the aforementioned, a layer of soft material (i.e. rubber, plastic, leather or fabric) is often added to a hard handle. One's grip can be further improved by the use of a glove normally made from soft materials such as rubber, leather or fabric.
Sport and work footwear rely on non-rigid composite materials and or leather to form a pliable foundation for the sole, to which a layer or layers of softer material is added to perform as a traction or gripping aid for the contact surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,164,231 discloses a method for dissolving an oil modified, styrene/ethylene-butylene/styrene block copolymer at high temperature in a suitable aromatic hydrocarbon solvent and further applying the thus formed coating solution to the contact area of a handle or a glove. Upon drying, the coating provides an increase in the coefficient of friction of the contact surface. The specific physical properties of the coating include a hardness of 20 to 40 Shore A, a tensile strength of 700 to 1700 psi, an elongation of 400 to 1400% and a tear resistance of 100 to 400 pli.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,254,391, a division of U.S. Pat. No. 5,164,231, teaches the preparation of the coating solution from an oil modified, styrene/ethylene-butylene/styrene block copolymer, a plasticized polyvinyl chloride elastomer, a silicone rubber or a polyurethane elastomer. The specific physical properties are identical to those of the coating of U.S. Pat. No. 5,164,231.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,302,440, a continuation in part to U.S. Pat. No. 5,164,231, describes the coating being prepared from a cross-linked acrylic polymer, a plasticized polyvinyl chloride elastomer, a silicone rubber, or a polyurethane elastomer. The specific properties of the coating, having been changed from those stated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,164,231, include a hardness of 10 to 40 Shore A, a tensile strength of 400 to 1700 psi, an elongation of 200 to 1400% and a tear resistance of 50 to 400 pli.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,745,139 discloses surface coating formulations which provide anti-slip and increased frictional characteristics for surfaces which are in frequent contact with water and for application to the surfaces of plastic foam structures. The formulations consist of styrene/ethylene/butylene/styrene block copolymer, methylmethacrylate copolymer, rubber tackifiers, particulate colloidal or powdered silicon dioxide and glass microspheres. They are generally intended for the decks of surfboards and wind surfing equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,429 discloses an adhesively tackified leather glove wherein at least a portion of the interior and the exterior are tackified using isobutylene-butene copolymer and a hydrocarbon tackifying resin and at least a portion of the interior is detackified with a nitrocellulose and silicone resin solution.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,832, a divisional of U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,429, discloses a process for tackifying leather glove material by immersing the material in an organic solvent solution containing the hydrocarbon tackifying resin and the isobutylene-butene copolymer, evaporating the solvent, detackifying at least a portion of the inner side by further applying thereto a solution containing nitrocellulose and a silicone resin, evaporating the solvent carrier and further sewing the leather into a glove.